Remembering Suwannee: County site selection drama, Part 2

Eric Musgrove  Contributor  In the Wednesday, July 17, edition of the Riverbend News, we began a multi-part series on how Live Oak became the county seat and how the present location of the Suwannee County Courthouse was determined. At the beginning of that article, I mentioned that the events included politics, bribery and blackmail, among other things. However, the period discussed in last week's article was tame compared to what would soon transpire in the county's history. In this week's article, we will begin to discuss some of those unethical and illegal activities.  Once the State Legislature decided on Aug. 1, 1869, that Live Oak would be the county seat, it was left up to the